Maciej Pawlik

Exploring how communities in Glasgow and Kyoto use storytelling and nature‑based solutions to build disaster resilience through innovative Green Learning research.

Maciej Pawlik

Supervisors: Dr Dan Haines, Dr Megnaa Mehtta and Dr Kaori Kitagawa
Funding: Self-funded (with fieldwork funds secured from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation & the British Association for International and Comparative Education)
Email: maciej.pawlik.24@ucl.ac.uk

Green Learning for disaster resilience: A study of nature-based solutions storytelling in flood-prone communities in Glasgow & Kyoto

This research seeks to understand the influencing factors that impact Green Learning (the process by which communities gain insight/agency into the Nature-based Solutions (NbS) within their communities). 

It will seek to uncover the learning processes that occur within specific communities through immersive research methodologies that will tell the narrative via storytelling of the perceived role of NbS in disaster resilience. Through better contextual understanding, there may be an increased capacity to bridge human-nature interactions to facilitate greater disaster resilience.

The epistemological basis for this research stems from posthumanist philosophy, asserting the need to transcend human-centric thinking, and proactively engage with the biophilia hypothesis to actualise mutualism with the natural world.

Selected publications

Qualifications

Royal Holloway, University of London 

  • Global Futures MSc 2022 (Distinction)
  • Psychology, Clinical Psychology & Mental Health BSc (Hons) 2021 (2:1).

Professional Skills

  • Statistics: R-prog, SPSS
  • Coding: Python, JavaScript, SQL
  • Languages: English & Polish (Native level), Japanese & Russian (Intermediate level), Mandarin (Learning)
  • Media: Canva, Audacity, Adobe Suite (inc. Photoshop)
  • Other: Basic Medical Skills (First Aid & Mental Health First Aid), Self-Defence (Jujitsu), Horticulture training, using NVIVO & ABM software, Survivalism.

University of East London 

  • Basic training in Engineering for DRR under Dr Ravindra Jayaratne (leading expert in Coastal Engineering).

Experience

  • Postgraduate Teaching Associate (PGTA) for the PGT Module, Emergency planning and management, UCL Risk & Disaster Reduction (Aug 2025 - present).
    • Supporting the delivery of teaching activities (seminars, summative & formative marking).
  • Climate Ambassador (for London), STEM Learning Scheme (Feb 2025 - present):
    • Helping to develop Climate Action Plans across schools in London
    • Mentoring students via the Brightside Mentoring system
    • Developing the Five-flower Project, utilising flowers that can be used in disaster scenarios to support resilience, as educational tools to raise climate & risk awareness
  • Member, EDI Committee, UCL Risk & Disaster Reduction (Oct 2024 - present):
    • Supporting efforts to raise accessibility and break down barriers to engagements within the department.
  • Guest lecturer for the PGT Module, Co-learning for disaster and climate justice, UCL Institute of Education (May 2024 - present)
    • Delivering a 3-hour interactive seminar about ‘Green Learning’, my novel contribution to DRR research encompassing the ways in which we gain insights about nature-based solutions
  • Research Assistant, Department of Engineering, University of East London (Sept 2022 – Aug 2024):
    • Supported the development of two international, interdisciplinary DRR projects focused on 1. Risk Communication and 2. Disaster Evacuation in the UK and Japan.
    • Directly involved in the management of project funds, grant application writing, production of successful ethics applications, producing Q1 research papers, presenting at international conferences and the British Science Festival, as well as supporting fieldwork across the UK and Japan, arranging interviews with stakeholders, and analysing large datasets

Achievements and awards

  • International fieldwork across Japan (March 2023 and November 2023; Upcoming: December 2025 – January 2026)
  • Awarded 5th place Young Scientist Award at the Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM) conference 2023
  • Grants Portfolio:
    • £2,500 for Scottish fieldwork in Glasgow, Student Fieldwork Grant, British Association for International and Comparative Education (2025-2026)
    • £2,500 for Japanese fieldwork in Kyoto (& Sendai), Standard Travel Grant, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation (2025-2026)
    • £50,000 for Evac-PAR Project (Disaster Evacuation), Impact Builder Grant, University of East London (2023-2024).

Affiliations and memberships

  • Associate Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (2024 - present)
  • Member: British Ecological Society; British Association for International & Comparative Education; WWF; Avoidable Deaths Network; Green Party of England and Wales, British Red Cross, Crisis UK.
     

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